Door for grain cars



Oct. 2, 1923. 1,469,350

c. E. WOOD DOOR FOR GRAIN-CARS Filed Sept. 30 1921 v Czmsiaperfi 74 50 i.

Z aaL/Zabr- Patented Get. 2, i923.

, tress earner rare.

CHRISTOPHER WOOD, OF ROXBORQUGH, PHILADELPHIA., PENNSYLVANIA.

noonroe GRAIN ones. 7

Application filed September 30, 1921. Serial No. 504,281.

T 0 (47. whom, it may concern:

Be it known that: I, Noon, a citizen of the United States, residing in-Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented. certain Improvements in Doors forGra-in Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in doors for grain cars, the object of the in-' Fig. 3, is a View in perspective of the re taining elements and the lower panel of a door made in accordance with my invention, and

Fig. 4c, is a side elevation of a box car illustrating the door with the retaining elements removed.

It has been customary in forming the doors of box cars, employed in the transportation of grain. to employ a series of boards or panels extending between and secured to the inside of the side uprights of the door frame, said panels extending across and blocking the door andbeing disposed one above another to the desired height.

This construction may provide an effective barrier, but some difficulty an a substantial loss of time is experienced in opening these doors to discharge the grain, the custom being to bash in the lower panels, which operation entails not only the beforementioned substantial loss in time, but destroys which not only insures a perfectly tightand thoroughly eflicient door, but also provides for a comparatively quick release of the grain from the car with no destruction of any of the elements of the door, these elements being capable of repeated use.

lVith reference to the drawings, my door Ci rnrsrorrrnn E.

comprises a series-of planks or panels of any number giving a barrier of the: desired heights, said panels being indicated in the drawings lay-the reference numerals l, 2, 3 and 4:, and being secured across the door opening in the usual manner, preferably by nailing the ends of the panels to the inside of the uprights 7, 7, of the door frame.

Instead, however, of making the lower or base panel IE-of one integ'ral piece, I divide it preferably at or near its center, and provide means for releasably retaining the abutting ends of the two panel portions 4 and 4 in place against the pressure of-the grain within the car. This retaining means comprises an upright 5 secured to the outer faces of'the panels and placed so as to overlap the abutting ends of the panel sections 4 and 4d, and. as best shown in Fig.

1, it is preferred to secure this upright both to the panelsetcions P and 4:" and tothe overlying panels. To further reinforce thQjOlIli] at the abutting ends of the sections 4 and 49, I provide a key block 6, preferably having a groove 6 in one side thereof for the reception of the lower end of the upright 5, which key block 6 is placed against the outer face of the upright 5 and, where-the said groove is provided, against the outer faces of the abutting ends of the panel sections 4 and 4 and is secured by means of nails or other securing means to the sill of the door. The key block 6 is preferably made of such width that it is closely confined between the outer face of the panel a and the inner face of the outer car door 8, as shown in Fig. 2, when the box car is provided with such outer door.

In releasing the barrier to permit discharge of the grain from the car, the operation consists merely of prying loose the key block 6 from the sill to which it'is secured, and the consequent prying off from the face of the door ofthe upright 5, these operations being performed by means of a pinch bar or similar instrument and en-,

7 tailing no loss of time such as is found in the operation of opening the previously described commonly employed door. Immediately upon removal of the upright 5, the

pressure of the grain within the car forces the two sections of the lower panel 4. outwardly at the center, thereby providing an opening through which the grain discharges. e 1

It will be noted that in the opening of that of the ordinary barrier, and involves no special construction of any sort.

The door has been subjected to thernost grueling tests, and has been found to be absolutely eflicient in retaining the grain in the'car, there being no'leakage or any tendencyof the elenients to breakout under the pressures from Within or to work loose under the vibrations and stresses of travel.

I claim: I

A knock down door for grain and like cars comprising upper and lower independent panels adapted to extend laterally across the door opening with their extremities behind the side posts of the door on the inside of the car, said lower panel being divided into a plurality of longitudinal sections, a bar adapted to be secured to the outer face of the upper panel with its lower end overlapping adjacent ends of the lower panel sections, and a block adapted to be secured to the sill of the door outwardly of and abutting the lower end of said bar to reinforce the latter in retaining the sections of the lower panel inposition against pressure from within the car, the securing means for both bar and block being such as to permit ready detachment 0-1 the said bar and block from the elements to which they are secured to release the sections of the lower panel and thereby to provide a dis charge opening for-the contents of the car. 

